Been Apart For Too Long
by Hail-Knight
Summary: After two years of training with Jiraiya, Uzumaki Naruto finally returns home and visits a close friends. They really have been apart for too long. OCxNaruto


There was a rumor that Naruto Uzumaki had returned from his training with Jiraiya going around the Hidden Leaf Village. Of course there were quite a few people who were excited to see him, but none of them was excited as Naomi. The young girl had missed her companion, especially when her parents had died while he was away. Her house was dark and empty, even during the daytime, and her mother and father's room was untouched by any human hands. The door to the room was locked from the outside and it was to never be unlocked. Naomi didn't like to think of her parents, though. Whether it was a good or bad thought, she didn't want to think of them.

Naomi had tried to find the blonde prankster, but she couldn't find the boy anywhere. He wasn't even at Ichiraku Ramen. She couldn't imagine where Naruto was, but when it started to get dark, she had to give up and go home. As she sat in her dark living she sighed. Over the years that she had known Naruto, she had grown attached to him. She loved spending time and eating at the ramen shop with him. When he had gone to train with Jiraiya he had promised her that the next time they met, he would be strong enough to protect her.

You see, on a previous mission, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Naomi had been ambushed by a group of rogue ninja. They had all fought for their lives and in the end, only two were defeated easily. The last two attacked Sakura and Naomi and while Kakashi was able to protect Sakura - he was closer to her than Naomi - Naruto was unable to prevent Naomi from being injured. When they returned from the mission, she had a broken leg and arm and Naruto had been knocked unconscious. Since that day, he promised her that he would become stronger so he would be able to protect her.

A knock on her front door brought her back down to Earth. Sighing she stood and walked slowly to answer the door. Standing there, hands in his pockets, was none other than Naruto Uzumaki. Naomi smiled widely at the blonde boy she had tried to find. "Naruto!" she squealed happily, earning a smile from him.

"Hey, Naomi. How are you?" his question caused her to flinch slightly. She led him into her dark and dreary house.

"I'm . . . okay," she mumbled. "Sorry the house is so . . . depressing. My parents . . . um, died . . . a week ago."

She felt his arms go around her waist as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm _so _sorry," he whispered in her ear.

"Mm," she breathed leaning into him. "It's not your fault."

"Still . . . I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Naruto."

As he slowly let go of her, he asked, "Isn't your birthday tomorrow?"

"I can't believe you remembered," she smiled.

"How could I forget? For the past year and a half I would feel horrible when your birthday came around. I always got you a present, but I wasn't able to."

"Aw!" she couldn't help but hug him again, which caused Naruto to laugh, but hug back. "It's so good to see you again!" The two kids spent their time in the living room catching up. Each told their own stories and laughed when whacky stories were told. During their time of talking, both realized something that wasn't as clear as before; they really missed each other. Naomi missed Naruto's sincere attitude and he missed her smiling face. Their night led to a movie, a horror movie. Which, I am sure, everyone knows what that means. Naomi was held by Naruto during the entire movie. I am also sure that everyone knows or expected, towards the end of the movie Naomi fell asleep in Naruto's arms.

Naomi had a dreamless sleep. She was enjoying her time in Naruto's arms even in her sleep. But much to her disappointment, morning came quickly and she had to get up. He was still sleeping, so she was careful not to wake him as she removed herself from his arms. For a moment she looked at Naruto's sleeping face and softly stroked his cheek with her fingertips. She decided to cook both of them breakfast; she wanted him to know how much she had actually missed him. Only moments after placing the bowls of her homemade ramen on the table, Naruto walked into the room. She smiled. "Morning!"

"Morning," he smiled back. "And Happy Birthday."

"Thank you! Breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you." It's been a while since they last ate breakfast together and they weren't that surprised to find out how much they missed their time together. Naruto really missed her homemade ramen; he could truthfully say that it was better than the ramen at Ichiraku Ramen. He remembered when he first said that her ramen was better. Her blush clearly showed that she was embarrassed. It had also been the first time he had seen her blush. Something about it had made him swoon.

It didn't take them long to finish their breakfasts. After only seven minutes, the two were putting their bowls in the sink. Naomi sighed as she turned to retrieve a couple of glasses, but was stopped by Naruto's arms going around her shoulders. In his hands was a dark blue rectangular velvet case - you know, the kind for jewelry. He opened the case to show her a silver necklace chain with a pear shaped ruby, a diamond resting at the tip, pendant. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the amazing necklace in complete awe. "Naruto," she breathed; the only word she could manage to say. No reply came from him. Instead, he took the necklace from its velvet lining cradle to undo the clasp and carefully place it around her neck. She turned to face Naruto; he was standing closer to her than she thought. "How?"

"I saved up," he spoke as if it wasn't that important, but his face showed a flicker of an emotion that Naomi couldn't understand. She was sure he was going to show her, though, as his hands carefully placed themselves on her neck and he pressed his body lightly against hers. Along with that, his face inched closer to hers until he was only an inch away from her. "Anything . . . anything for you."

"Naruto, you didn't . . . have . . . to," she breathed and let her arms travel up to rest on his chest. They continued to stare into each other's eyes for a few moments. Two things were apparent; one, they both wanted to kiss the other; and two, their friendship had developed into more than just a liking, possibly love.

"Naomi," he whispered moving his face slightly closer to hers. His lips were somewhat open, showing that he really wanted to kiss her. "I have missed you . . . so much. Seeing you now has made me realize how much I . . . how much I love you."

"I've missed you too. I'm so glad that you came because I couldn't find you," she tried to express what she was feeling, but it was difficult since she felt so much. Her hands continued traveling up his chest and around to the back of his neck. "Naruto, I . . . I . . . I love you too."

All the waiting for the kiss to happen ended as Naruto pressed his lips against Naomi's in a rough, but passionate way. Their lips meshed together perfectly, moving in sync. He didn't waste any time pulling her tighter against his body and wrapping his arms around her waist. All the time that they had spent apart had just fed the want and the need they had started to feel towards each other. But now . . . now they could let their feelings out; they could show each other how much they really loved the other. Naomi noted that his lips tasted sweet and his hair was amazingly soft. She enjoyed the way his tongue massaged hers with both certainty and uncertainty, making the pressure gentle, but somewhat rough. And though they both enjoyed the kiss, they unfortunately need to break apart to breathe.

"Naruto!" Naomi gasped, breathless. His forehead rested against hers as he spent time catching his breath.

"Naomi, re-remember when . . . I promised you that . . . the next time we met, I would be strong enough to protect you?"

"O-of course."

"Well . . . I'm strong enough now. I can protect you. I don't want to be away from you anymore."

"I don't want to be away from you either," she pulled him into a loving hug. He kissed her neck and rubbed her back softly. After a moment, he pulled himself away from her neck to give her one of his famous smiles.

"Since it's your birthday, you get to decide what you want to do. So what do you want to do?"

"Well . . ." she trailed off smiling, letting her mind wander just a bit. Naruto smiled as he realized where her mind was wandering off to. Her eyes met his and she blushed when she saw his smile, knowing that he had figured out where her mind went.

"It's not a bad idea. If that's what you want, then I won't object; I wouldn't want to," his lips started to kiss down her jaw line to her neck.

"Mm," she breathed. "If you also want to then I don't want to stop you."

"We've been apart for too long."

"I agree."

"So why don't I give you another birthday present."

"Feel free to enjoy the present too," Naomi smiled and pulled Naruto towards her bedroom. She stopped right outside of her bedroom to look back at him with an alluring smile. "Ready?"

"Of course. The question is, are _you _ready?"

Her smile turned into a smirk. "Of course," she pulled him against her and opened her door. "Mm. I missed you."

"I missed you too."


End file.
